Cetera Investment Advisers Increases Stock Holdings in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 8.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,864 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,721 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Targa Resources were worth $11,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TRGP. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 17,061 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in Targa Resources during the first quarter worth about $267,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 3,146.1% in the first quarter. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,311 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $830,000 after purchasing an additional 3,209 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 7.0% in the first quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 795,557 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $199,470,000 after purchasing an additional 52,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Targa Resources by 238.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 228,538 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $57,301,000 after purchasing an additional 161,035 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.96, for a total transaction of $2,713,687.92. Following the sale, the director owned 66,492 shares in the company, valued at $17,019,292.32. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $249.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $318.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $268.00 target price on Targa Resources in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Targa Resources Price Performance

Targa Resources stock opened at $264.71 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $269.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.71. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.14 and a 12-month high of $291.04.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.27). Targa Resources had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 71.00%. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.68 billion. Equities analysts predict that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

About Targa Resources

Targa Resources Corporation (NYSE: TRGP) is a U.S.-focused midstream energy company that provides gathering, processing, transportation, storage and marketing services for natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and condensate. Its operations span the midstream value chain, including gas gathering systems that collect production from wells, processing plants that separate and recover NGLs and other hydrocarbons, fractionation and purification facilities that prepare NGLs for market, and pipeline and terminal assets that move and store products for producers, refiners and other customers.

The company operates a network of pipelines, processing plants, fractionators and storage facilities that serve producers and consumers across major U.S.